


Genius Loci

by kethni



Category: American Gothic, Veep
Genre: AU, Crack Crossover, Crossover, F/M, Hints of Crossover Shipping, Magical Realism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 21:55:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4075186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kethni/pseuds/kethni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Driving into South Carolina after the airports in North Carolina are shut down, Selina and the team find themselves approaching a strange little town called Trinity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Genius Loci

**Author's Note:**

> I probably should've made this a Halloween story but hey ho. It's a weird cracky little thing.

 

‘What in the everloving _fuck_ do you mean?’ Selina demanded. ‘The hurricane already missed North Carolina!’

‘I mean, Ma’am, that Airforce One is grounded,’ Ben’s voice crackled over the cell phone. ‘You asked for a travel lockdown. Even if the governor countermands it immediately the airports won’t be up and running until at least tomorrow evening.’ His heavy sighed was mixed with a groan. ‘And Ma’am, she’s in no mood to rush to help us out.’

Kent shook his head. ‘We cannot remain in North Carolina overnight. That is not acceptable.’

Selina raised her eyebrows. ‘Ya _think_?’

‘Oh my God,’ Gary moaned to Mike. ‘I can’t believe this. It’s like Iran all over again.’

‘Fun fact,’ Tom said, ‘Graham County is the only dry county in North Carolina.’

Selina sagged back against the car seat as Kent put the phone away. ‘And are we in Graham County, Tom?’

‘I don’t know,’ he admitted.

She snorted. ‘Look at that. Something that you don’t know.’

‘It’s Mecklenburg County,’ Kent said. ‘We’re just outside Charlotte.’

Tom knitted his fingers together in his lap. ‘Okay, here’s a thought, just putting it out there: are we near enough the border to drive into another state and charter a plane from there?’

Selina drummed her fingers on the door. ‘Well, anyone?’

Mike lent forward. ‘Says here we’re about two hour’s drive away from South Carolina.’

‘Of course it’ll take a while for us to organise a plane,’ Tom said. ‘Tomorrow morning probably at best.’

Kent was shaking his head. ‘South Carolina would be unacceptable.’

‘Excuse me? What _is_ unacceptable is being trapped with you bozos in the middle of the South,’ Selina snapped. ‘Get on the phone and arrange for the backup plane to go to the… where’s the nearest airport in South Carolina?’

‘Fulton County?’ Gary said. ‘Pretty sure that there’s a transport hub there.’

Selina swatted Kent’s knee with her hand. ‘Kent are you making the call? Because you look like you’re doing whatever your version of freaking out is.’

Kent forced a smile, but there was more than a hint of grimace in it. ‘Ma’am, Fulton County is not an association that you need. It has the highest rate of missing persons in the state and its sheriff’s department has the most complaints of police brutality in the entire country.’

‘Holy shit, seriously?’

‘This is why democracy is so vital,’ Tom said. ‘Elected officials cannot persist when they mistreat their constituents.’

Kent sighed. ‘In fact Fulton County has had the same sheriff for the past twenty years. He has never come close to losing an election.’

Selina rubbed her forehead. ‘Well. The people complaining are criminals. Cops roughing up criminals. Big fucking deal. Boo hoo.’

Mike shared a glance with Gary.

‘Even so, we should probably not visit with the… most violent sheriff in the whole country,’ Tom said mildly. ‘It might generate the wrong kind of headlines.’

Selina shook her head and glanced out the window. ‘Make the goddamn call and set it up, Kent. Jesus.’

There was a clatter as Kent fumbled the phone and it dropped onto the floor of the car.

‘Easy tiger,’ Tom said.

‘Are we sure that this is a good idea?’ Gary asked, bending down to pick up Kent’s phone.

‘My idea, Gary?’ Selina asked. ‘Are you asking if my idea was a good one?’

‘Ma’am, I’m going to need to move to one of the other cars,’ Kent said. ‘It might be a lengthy negotiation.’

After they’d stopped to allow him to get into one of the other cars, Selina turned to Tom.

‘Wait, did he say negotiation? Why the _fuck_ would the goddamn President of the United States need to negotiate with some little hillbilly sheriff?’

Tom twisted to look out of the window at the car following them. ‘It’s starting to feel a little _Deliverance_ isn’t it?’

‘That was set in Georgia,’ Gary said, his pitch rising.

‘Where was _Night of the Hunter_ set?’ Mike wondered. ‘Wendy loves that movie.’ 

‘It’s a classic,’ Tom agreed. ‘There’s something very melodramatic about Southern Gothic movies. Everything is heightened. Grand sweeps of emotion. Good versus evil. All the big stuff.’

Selina was looking out of the window. ‘The KKK, fried food by the dump truck, Confederate pride.’ She turned to look at them. ‘What is it with southerners who act like the south is a separate freaking country?’

‘Because it practically is,’ Mike said. ‘They have their own weird traditions and creepy rituals.’ He waggled his fingers. ‘Southern voodoo magic! I think it’s all the swamps and… bayous. All that water and heat and… alligators.’

‘It’s undeniable that the Deep South has a very distinct character,’ Tom said. ‘Particularly in fiction. That and the idea of elemental magic. You know places like swamps and dark scary woods. The different states almost have a genius loci.’

Selina raised her eyebrows. ‘Genius, really?’

Tom shrugged. ‘It means a spirit of a place. Sometimes it’s a god or it could be a person who embodies all the facets associated with that place.’

Gary scowled. ‘That’s not a real thing.’

‘It’s a real _trope_ ,’ Tom said. ‘Very popular idea in horror movies and the like.’ Tom smiled slightly. ‘The slasher, the witch, the corrupt small town sheriff, they might all be the land and the culture reaching out to interact with the real world.’

‘They’ve got a hell of a way of doing it,’ Selina snorted.

Gary shook his head. ‘Okay, all Southern states aren’t full of creepy backwoods and crazed rednecks trying to murder everyone they meet.’

‘Just wherever Gary’s from,’ Mike snickered.

***

After about an hour, they stopped at a gas station to fill up and for Kent to come back to the car. Selina blustered and bullied the secret service until they let her out of the car to stretch her legs.

‘So what’s the word?’ she asked Kent as he walked over.

‘A back up plane will be available to fly from nine tomorrow morning,’ he said.

‘Good.’

‘A hotel has been arranged overnight along with office facilities.’

‘Better.’

Kent put his hands on his hips. ‘It was suggested that if you wanted to get some campaigning in you might consider visiting the Fulton County hospital. There was an epidemic outbreak of an unknown disease a couple of months ago, that flared up and evanesced within the space of a week.’

Gary, sat in the car with the door open, was shaking his head. ‘Ma’am, I don’t think it’s safe to hang around with some mysterious disease on the rampage.’

‘Perhaps you’re unclear on the meaning of the word “evanesce,” Gary. It means to dissolve or pass out of sight,’ Kent said. ‘The epidemic, whatever its epidemiology, has finished.’

Selina tapped her foot. ‘What kind of sickness?’

‘Bleeding from the eyes,’ Kent said quickly. ‘Some patients had delusions of the end of days and similar.’

Mike scooted along the car seat so that he could join in the conversation. ‘Bleeding from the eyes sounds like the apocalypse to me.’

‘It clearly wasn’t,’ Kent said sharply.

‘I don’t know if I want to spend my afternoon with sick people.’ Selina reached down to rub her calf.  ‘This hasn’t exactly been a great day all round, you know?’

‘It would be good to get something on the news,’ Tom said mildly. ‘Better than completely losing half a day.’

‘Is there like a… school or a market or something?’ Selina snapped her fingers. ‘Something more high energy. A little more zip. A little more cheery.’

A muscle jumped in Kent’s cheek. ‘The nearest town is Trinity. There’s an elementary school there. Perhaps a visit might be arranged. One of the schoolteachers is quite… amenable. Uh, we may not have quite the press coverage that we’re used to but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.’

Mike snorted. ‘Three yokels from the Potato Weekly.’

‘The day I’m having that’ll be trying enough,’ Selina said.

Kent sighed. ‘I’ll make the call.’

‘Who suggested the hospital?’ Tom asked.

Kent’s shoulder’s tensed. ‘The sheriff. It was wisest to let him know we were planning to enter the county. He arranged the hotel and the office space.’

Mike put up his hand. ‘Is this the most violent cop in the country, guy?’

‘The apparently loved by the voters, guy,’ Tom said.

‘Why the fuck do you have to tell this guy what we’re doing?’ Selina asked. ‘Did South Caroline secede, Kent? Is there a civil war that I don’t know about? Because I’m pretty fucking sure that President of the United States outranks sheriff of shitburg by a hundred thousand percent.’

Kent looked up as a raven flew, cawing overhead.

‘Quoth the Raven “Nevermore,”’ Tom intoned.

Selina looked at him. ‘Really?’

‘The moment seemed apposite.’ 

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Well, it wasn’t.’

‘The issue is not you, Ma’am,’ Kent said carefully. ‘Lucas, that is to say Sheriff Buck, and I have certain… issues of location and… territory and those require the enforcement of very stringent boundaries, boundaries which I am now breaching.’

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Territory? What are you wild animals, spirits of the genius… whatever the fuck that was.’ She shook her head at Kent’s blank expression. ‘You know this guy personally. What did you do, sleep with his wife?’

Kent gave another grimace-flavoured smile. ‘Lucas is a family member in point of fact.’ He chopped his hand through the air. ‘Not close. It’s an awkward situation that will in no way impact on our sojourn in South Carolina.’  

‘Better not. I have had enough disasters for one day, ‘kay?’

***

A sign for Fulton Country flashed past the car. Traffic had been dwindling steadily since they’d crossed over the state line. Now the only sound was their wheels passing over the blacktop and the singing of the Carolina wrens. The trees clustered thickly by the side of the wide, straight road. The boles were tall, straight, and dark with long branches that stretched out over the road. As Selina looked out of the window, the deep blue sky was shattered into shards by the leaves that jutted out from the branches. With the sun directly above the leaves looked almost black. Even with the air conditioning on it was warm in the car, but Selina shivered anyway.

‘Are you okay, Ma’am?’ Gary asked.

‘Yeah.’ She rubbed her arm. ‘Someone walking on my grave.’

‘Oh my God, don’t say that!’

Mike, eyes fixed on his phone, rolled his eyes. ‘It’s just an expression, Gary.’

‘It’s a little unnerving around here, don’t you think?’ Selina suggested. ‘Maybe all that stuff about magic and horror movies is getting to me.’

‘All the missing people got to me,’ Gary muttered. ‘Violent sheriff and missing persons…’

Kent lifted his gaze from his cell. ‘Unnerving, certainly. Dangerous in the abstract, possibly. Hazardous to you personally, unlikely.’

‘Unless we’re at risk from the timber liberation front,’ Tom suggested. ‘Look at all those trees just lurking out there.’

‘Eating people,’ Mike said with ghoulish glee. ‘They come alive at night and lurch from the woods to attack the townsfolk.’

‘Oh shut up,’ Selina said.

‘I was only- ’

‘Jesus!’ Selina grabbed at Tom as the car screeched to a halt, throwing them all against each other.

Tom reached for the door handle but Mike and Gary grabbed his arm.

‘It could be terrorists!’ Gary wailed.

‘It’s a roadblock,’ Kent said, he had opened the other door and was looking out. ‘A deputy is walking this way.’

‘This is how it starts,’ Gary whined. ‘He’s going to come over here and we’ll never be seen again.’

‘You were the one complaining the south isn’t all about horror movies,’ Mike hissed.

Kent sat back in the car and shut the seat. ‘It’s _one_ deputy. We outnumber him significantly even without the secret service.’

Tom raised his eyebrows. ‘The fact that you went right to us outnumbering him, not the idea being idiotic, is not reassuring.’

Selina rubbed her philtrum with her fingertip. ‘Kent, get out there and see what the guy is doing.’

‘Ma’am?’

She shooed him. ‘The deputy, go on. Go find out what the hold-up is.’

He nodded wearily, and as he opened the door, warm, humid air swept into the car. Selina expected to smell trees or the dark, moist smell of the undergrowth. Instead, there was an acrid undertone like something rotting, like the scent of decomposing roses.

‘Good morning!’

‘Holy shit!’ Gary squealed.

The deputy, a chunky, balding man in his late thirties gave an embarrassed chuckle. ‘Did I give you a fright there?’

Selina covered her eyes with her hand. ‘Ignore Gary. He’d jump on a chair if he saw a mouse.’

‘Kinda got that impression.’

Tom lent forward. ‘Can we help you, deputy…?’

‘Uh, Deputy Healy.’ He tipped up his uniform baseball cap and wiped his forehead with his palm. ‘Sorry to bother you folks.’

Selina held up her hand. ‘Hey, hi. President of the United States here.’

Healy nodded. ‘Uh, yes, Ma’am. Mister… Mister Davison here explained.’ He glanced away nervously as Kent joined him, and then looked back into the car.

Selina rolled her eyes. ‘Deputy, why have you stopped our cars?’

Healy took a small step away from Kent, as far as he could go while still being in her sight. ‘Well Ma’am, we’ve had a patient escape from Juniper House, our local sanatorium. We’re searching all the cars in the area.’

‘Well he’s not in here,’ Selina said. ‘So can we hustle?’

Healy rolled his eyes as another deputy, a shorter, stocky man, with bright, vacant eyes joined him by the car.

‘Here’s the thing, Ma’am,’ Healy said, ‘he’s considered extremely dangerous.’

‘He shot at the sheriff!’ the second deputy said.

‘Did he shoot the deputy?’ Mike snickered.

Healy sighed heavily. ‘Right, we haven’t heard that joke before. Look, we can try to… damn!’

They felt the impact of the bullets thudding into the car before they consciously registered the sound of the shots. Healy and the deputy ducked. Kent turned, looking for the shooter. Inside the car, Tom grabbed the door and slammed it shut.

‘Drive! Drive!’ Selina shouted, banging on the connecting window.

‘But Kent –’ Mike began.

‘He can catch up!’ Gary snarled.

There was a jolt as the car lurched backwards, struck the secret service car behind them, and then squealed off towards the forest.

The car crashed through the trees, leaves slapping against the windows, and branches whipping against the bodywork. The sky had gone, wiped out by the forest canopy. Sunlight couldn’t pierce the smothering darkness.

‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,’ Gary moaned, rocking back and forth in his seat.

‘Are they behind us?’ Mike twisted around to squint out of the back window. ‘I can’t see anything.’

‘I’m calling Kent.’ Tom pressed his phone to his ear.

‘Do you hear sirens?’ Selina asked.

‘I can’t get a signal. Can anyone else get a signal?’

‘Jesus, Gary, will you shut up?’ Selina demanded. ‘I can’t hear myself freaking the fuck out about the people shooting at us.’

The car plunged through the trees, wheels screaming as it erupted out onto a dirt track. The car skewed wildly as the driver hauled on the wheel and, for a moment, Selina saw a tall figure standing in the middle of the road.

The car shrieked to a halt, throwing Selina and Tom off their seats. Selina landed on Mike, who she scrambled off, slapping away at him, and Tom crashed down to the floor.

‘I have had enough of this!’ Selina threw open the door and half clambered, half fell out of the car.

‘Well now, it ain’t everyday a beautiful woman literally falls at my feet.’

Selina took the hand that was being held out. Its owner was a tall man with collar length caramel brown hair, hazel eyes, and a hard, handsome face.

‘I’ll protect you, Ma’am!’ Gary crawled out after her, sprawling out on the muddy ground.

Selina rolled her eyes as she was gently but inexorably pulled to her feet. ‘I don’t need protecting, Gary.’

The stranger’s mouth quirked slightly. ‘Not from anything that he can protect you from, anyhow.’

‘Get out of the way, Gary!’ Mike said, slapping at Gary’s legs as he struggled to exit the car.

‘You’re still holding his hand,’ Gary said as he stumbled to his feet.

Selina turned to glare at him. ‘Thank you for pointing that out. It’s not the least bit embarrassing.’

Tom cleared his throat. ‘So, I guess you’re Sheriff Buck? Kent Davison said you were a relative. There’s uh, there’s a resemblance.’

‘Didn’t the deputy said the sheriff had been shot?’ Gary asked Mike.

‘That’d be Floyd,’ Buck said, ‘he’s minded to confusion.’ He tilted his head to look at the car. ‘Looks like you got yourselves between a hunter and a wild hog.’ He winked at Selina. ‘Between the buckshot and the boar, you might say.’

Selina finally let get of his hand as she looked at the car. ‘We got shot at by some asshole hunting _pigs_?’

Buck tapped the car with his knuckles. ‘It’s hunting season, Ma’am, and this here area is renowned for having a large amount of wild hogs in the vicinity.’ He pointed at a wide stream rushing past nearby. ‘They wander a ways but never too far from water.’

She turned to the secret service driver and his partner, who were standing nearby and looking distinctly sheepish. ‘Wild pig hunter, huh? Jesus.’

‘I can’t help noticing you seem to be short a man,’ Buck said.

‘We left Kent behind,’ Mike said. ‘He was talking to your deputies. When the shooting started we drove off without him.’

‘Whoops,’ Buck said.

‘Get in the car, Mike,’ Selina snapped. ‘You too Gary.’ She forced a smile as she looked at Buck. ‘Can’t get the staff.’

He smirked. ‘I know the feelin’. You ain’t hurt but my deputies might be. You wanna take a walk, survey the area?’

Selina looked at the forest, scarred by the car hurtling through, and then at the sheriff. He wasn’t dressed like any sheriff she’d seen. Instead of a uniform, he was wearing tight pants, a white shirt buttoned up to the collar, but with no tie, a waistcoat, and a long coat that seemed to billow about him even in the still air. Selina wasn’t even wearing a jacket and she was warm. He should’ve been hot as hell but he looked cool and composed.

‘Not sure my security detail would like me strolling around with all these blind hunters infesting your woods,’ she said lightly. ‘Unless a big, strong man could keep me safe.’

His eyes drifted over her. ‘I think that can be arranged.’

Gary was spluttering in outrage. Selina ignored him. There were times when she wanted everyone to remember she was the goddamn president. This wasn’t one of those times.

‘Ma’am, we couldn’t recommend it,’ the driver protested.

‘Well, you boys will likely have other things on your mind,’ Buck said. Before they could answer, there was a pop and a loud hiss as all four tires deflated.

‘Okay,’ Gary said. ‘That was genuinely creepy.’

‘Ma’am, you might want to change your shoes,’ Buck said. ‘I have some hiking boots in the back of my car.’

Selina followed him over to the crown victoria. ‘These your wife’s?’

His mouth quirked.’ Not married,’ he said, opening the trunk. ‘Marriage is an impressive commitment and a fine institution. But who wants to end up committed to an institution?’

‘Not your escaped mental patient.’

Buck shut the trunk and watched Selina shuck off her shoes. ‘Doc Crower never did know what was in his best interests.’

The boots were a half a size too big but comfy enough. They were scuffed but clean and well looked after.

‘These are never yours.’

‘They’re my boy’s,’ Buck said. ‘We went fishin’ last week.’

‘Maybe I’ll set a new trend,’ she said wryly.

Buck brushed a hair from her face. ‘Looks good to me.’

She should have bristled at the familiarity but instead she chucked his shoulder with her fist and then wondered why the hell she’d done it.

‘I hope we’re not going to be trudging for miles.’

Buck shook his head. ‘No, Ma’am. Your boys got a mite turned about drivin’ through the trees. We ain’t more than a couple of hundred feet away from the roadblock.’

She was a little disappointed. Fuck it. She’d had a shitty day and she could count the men who flirted with her on a blind carpenter’s fingers.

‘No, no, no. You all stay with the car,’ she said, flapping her hands at Mike, Gary, and Tom.

Gary scuttled over and whispered to her. ‘Ma’am, you just met this man and we don’t really know who he is.’

Selina rolled her eyes and turned to Buck. ‘Can you believe this, he’s asking for id.’

Gary nodded, and his eyes darted to Buck. ‘I think checking his ID would be a good idea.’

Buck gave Selina a conspiratorial wink as he reached into his pocket. ‘One badge,’ he said, throwing his star to Gary. ‘And one ID.’ He held it up for them to squint at.

‘Where’s your weapon?’ Selina asked. She rolled her eyes at his suggestive smile. ‘Your gun?’

He shrugged. ‘Never carry one.’

‘Never?’

‘Then how are you going to protect her?’ Gary demanded.

‘Guess I’ll have to use my sparklin’ personality. Are you ready, Ma’am?’

They didn’t follow the car’s path through the woods, but instead entered a few feet north. Selina was surprised just how loud the rushing water, rustling animals and singing birds were. Looking up she couldn’t see the sun but there was still enough light to see by. She looked at Buck. He was walking close by, close enough to brush against her, his opposite hand outstretched as if to connect with each tree they passed.

‘I’m starting to feel a little like Red Riding Hood,’ she said, giving him a little smirk.

Buck’s lips twitched into a smile. ‘Remind me, do I huff and puff or just nibble from your basket?’

Selina stumbled. Buck caught her before she fell.

‘Nibble from my basket?’ She could smell his skin, a strangely animal scent.

‘Sure.’ He raised an eyebrow. ‘Little Red Riding Hood was takin’ a basket of goodies to Grandma’s house.’

Selina laughed, a little embarrassed. A little more nervous. ‘Right. Exactly.’

His eyes scanned his face, dwelt on her mouth for a moment, and then met her gaze. ‘What were you thinkin’ I meant?’

Selina licked her lips. ‘You know exactly what I was thinking, Mr Wolf.’

‘Most folks call me Lucas.’

There was a rustling in the undergrowth.

‘Did you hear something?’ Selina hissed. ‘Wild pigs grow pretty big, right?’

‘Not as big as wild deputies.’ Lucas dropped his arms with a sigh. He turned and raised his voice. ‘Come on out, Floyd.’

The vacant-looking deputy staggered into the clearing. ‘Hey, Lucas. We was just sat waiting for the ambulance when Mr Davison said he heard voices in here. He must have ears like a bat to have heard you all the way in here.’

‘Somethin’ like that.’

‘Ambulance?’ Selina pushed her hair back. ‘Who got hurt?’

***

One of the secret servicemen in the car behind them had been injured when Selina’s car had backed up abruptly. Shit. Now Mike was going to apologise to the man. What the fuck was with the secret service acting like regular human beings?

‘Anything I can do for you, Ma’am?’ Healy asked.

She snorted. ‘I could use a belt.’

Healy looked past her to where Buck was chatting to the secret service men, and studiously ignoring Kent. ‘Might be I could help with that,’ he admitted. ‘Hypothetically, I might have a little flask in my car.’

‘Hypothetically, I could kiss you.’

Healy laughed as they walked to his patrol car. ‘Ain’t every day I hear that.’ He handed her the flask and stood in front of her while she took a surreptitious gulp. 

‘Policing around here is high stress, huh?’ Selina asked.

‘Working for Lucas…’ Healy shrugged. ‘It could drive a saint to drink.’ He wiped the neck of the flask with his sleeve and took a sip. ‘And Ma’am, I’m not about to claim to be a saint.’

‘What’s the deal with them?’ Selina said, nodding at Kent and Buck.

Healy shrugged. ‘Lucas doesn’t like sharing. It’s…’ He rubbed his forehead. ‘Trinity ain’t a place you want to stay, Ma’am. Between the woodlands and the beach, we’ve got picturesque out the wazoo. What we ain’t got is rational, or logical, or normal. We’re all out of that.’

Selina was walking back towards the car when Buck swaggered towards Kent. She circled around behind them as they faced off.

‘Long time, no see,’ Buck said to Kent. They were watching each other warily as they circled the car, keeping it between them as if they needed a barrier.

‘You should leave Trinity now and then,’ Kent said. ‘See the big, wide world.’

Buck trailed his finger along the car. ‘That ain’t fair. Every year I go to the Southern Sheriff’s Association convention.’ He smiled. ‘Pick up my sheriff of the year plaque. Surprised to see you out of Washington D.C.’

‘Parts of it were built on a swamp,’ Kent said. ‘You’d fit right in.’

Cats, Selina realised. That’s what they were reminding her of. Any second one of them wold start growling.

‘Maybe I’ll visit,’ Buck said. The president and I can continue playing Red Riding Hood.’

‘Try it,’ Kent said. ‘I’ll get my axe.’

‘Well ain’t you the brave defender of all that’s good and pure,’ Buck said. ‘Trinity ain’t D.C. She doesn’t spoon feed. Trinity takes sacrifice, selflessness, and strength. One out of three won’t cut it. Around here, you’re like a four year old with a shotgun. Go back to your hole and hide, Kent.’

‘Keep pushing,’ Kent said. ‘I’ll show you what damage I can do.’

Selina shivered in the rising breeze. The air was growing close and heavy. It felt like a thunderstorm.

Buck turned suddenly and looked right at her. ‘Someone’s got their trackin’ and huntin’ badge.’

‘Yeah, I’m just full of surprises.’ She snapped her fingers at Kent. ‘Come on, let’s go already.’ She turned to Buck. Thanks for… you know, everything.’

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. ‘Madame President, it was a pleasure.’

***

She had to almost run to keep up with Kent as they walked back through the wood. How could he be stamping through the wood like that without being covered in mud?

‘Will you slow the fuck down?’

He stopped to let her catch up. His expression was tight and he was fidgeting even more than usual.

‘Don’t give me that look,’ Selina said. ‘For all we knew it was ISIS shooting at the car.’

‘What?’

She hesitated. ‘You’re mad about the car driving off.’

Kent rubbed his forehead. ‘Ma’am, you abandoned Gary and Mike in Iran, I’m not remotely surprised that you left me behind to be shot at. I’m far more concerned that you spent so much time with Lucas, alone. That was not... the best decision.’

‘Oh please, what was he going to do, push me up against a tree and have his way with me?’

‘Wasn’t he?’

Selina gritted her teeth when she felt herself redden. ‘That’s none of your business.’

‘You’re the president, Ma’am, and he’s dangerous.’ Kent put his hands on his hips. ‘I have a bounden duty to…’

‘Excuse me!’ Selina shook her head. ‘You have a duty? You have a fucking _duty_? Your duty is whatever the fuck I say it is.’

‘There are other issues at stake here.’

She poked his chest. ‘We’re going to have a long talk about this at the hotel. You’re going to explain all of this weird shit to me. I know there’s something going on that you’re not telling me. Negotiations. Tires spontaneously deflating. All that stuff about kids with shotguns and you being a coward.’

Kent sighed and shook his head. ‘Ma’am, I asked you repeatedly not to come here.’

‘You think this was how I wanted to spend my day? Are you listening to me?’ Selina demanded.

Kent leant back against a tree, closed his eyes, and covered them with his hand. ‘Attempting, Ma’am. But it’s all so loud.’

‘I heard you talking to Buck. I don’t even know what the hell any of it meant,’ Selina snapped. ‘But by God you’re going to explain it to me.’

 ‘No, Ma’am.’ Kent dropped his hand and opened his eyes. ‘I’m not.’

Selina tried to take a step back but the heat hemmed her in. Sweat was trickling down the nape of her neck and along her spine. How could it be so hot so quickly?

Kent looked her in the eye as the birdsong and the rushing water faded away leaving nothing but the sound of his voice.

‘You’re not going to ask me again,’ he said. ‘You’re not going to think about this again. You don’t need to know about it.’

‘I don’t need to know about it,’ she echoed.

Kent looked away. Selina blinked and wiped at her neck. She heard Kent swearing under his breath.

‘What the fuck is the matter with you?’ she asked.

He drew himself up. ‘Nothing Ma’am I just... I did something I promised myself I’d never do.’

Selina snorted. ‘Is that all? Shit, I do six of those before breakfast.’

End

 


End file.
